Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Insurance

Please select your insurance company (Optional)

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Additional Options

Miscellaneous Options

Automatically parse links in text

Automatically embed media (requires automatic parsing of links in text to be on).

Automatically retrieve titles from external links

Topic Review (Newest First)

06-03-2009 08:24 PM

4 Jaw Chuck

Well now thats more like it Schnitz, we fully support the vehicle type you envision with great enthusiam. You are truly a great supporter of the American Dream and realizer of terrific vision.

We have planned for the North American Continent a futuristic vision of hydrogen stations linked by fiber optic network that will automatically charge your credit card and notify you by dashboard graphic of upcoming refueling stations and their in-house sales promotions. By way of telecommunication we will be able to forecast your refueling needs and preplan your refueling stops for you so there is always the proper amount of Hydrogen available to fuel your chicklet sized vehicle. In addition this exciting new vehicle technology will be powered by that most well known and reliable engine powerplant on the planet.

Briggs&Stratton!

This new powerplant is so efficient and powerful that its output can only be measured in watts not horsepower, an estimated output of over 1000 watts!!!!! is available to propel this exciting new vehicle to speeds of up to 50km/hr inside city limits. With the newly proposed highway speed limits reaching 80kms/hr!!!! our new Corporate designed vehicle will be able to reach that speed and more!

In the interests of economy the engine is designed to be recycled at intervals which makes the most economical use of the capabilities of the engine producer, there is no oil to change or filters to replace. When it is time to replace the engine you will be notified by dashboard graphic of the next refueling stations service capabilities and the powerplant can be replaced in the time it takes to refuel your vehicle! You never have to get your hands dirty, check a fluid or ever even lift your hood again.

I know you will be excited with this new green revolution in automotive technology and we look forward to delivering it to you.

I'm still waiting for my Mr. Fusion machine that will allow me to run off of whatever I can dig out of the nieghbors trash can LOL

I'm with Pigjam, hydrogen costs more to make than it returns, unless we can get over our nuclear phobia and get the whole country running nuclear power, then we would have more electricity than we knew what to do with.

I too cringed every time I heard the guy babble about being soo green. What a crock!

06-03-2009 04:55 PM

pigjamelectric

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4 Jaw Chuck

I have one word for you guys, HYDROGEN. We need to keep those filling stations going for the good of mankind, you can get that whole notion of energy Independence out of your minds forever. Energy flows out of a nozzle not a wire people!

I used to be a proponent of hydrogen. After having looked more into it recently, I've changed my position. I think electricity is preferable as the alternative source of power for vehicles *edit* I mean the MAIN source of power.

Hydrogen vehicles have a short range - less than 100 miles unless the vehicle has an unreasonably large tank. Currently, battery technology allows for a range beyond 300 miles.

Hydrogen is way more expensive than gasoline. These days the cheapest way to get hydrogen is to get it from methane (CH4), not from electrolysis. So hydrogen production today, on top of costing a lot, is not very green.

So why not use electrolysis, some may ask? Using electrolysis to produce hydrogen makes as much sense as melting snow to get water so you can make ice cubes. As much or more energy is needed to break apart H2O as is produced in hydrogen combustion. Might as well use that electricity to directly power the car.

The infrastructure for hydrogen filling stations would have to be built. The filling station for the electric car already exists: Your garage! AND we can adapt our wiring so as to get power from the sun and wind. Fill up for free!

It's been said that battery production or disposal would not be good for the environment. I agree the potential for that exists. But here is the difference I see when compared to fossil fuel production and combustion. In northern Alberta oil production is creating vast pools of toxic waste stored in pools that, if compromised, would create an environmental disaster that would dwarf that of the Exxon Valdez. It should be added that areas that used to be pristine boreal forest are now barren landscapes. As for fossil fuel combustion, gases (greenhouse gases) end up in the atmosphere; they can't be contained. Reminds me of Toronto when I was down there one summer during a Smog alert. The pollutants also end up in the ground when it rains. Now when a battery is toast, parts can be recycled, and the acid contained.

There is a drawback that a couple of Winnipeggers like 4Jaw and myself could surely (surly?) appreciate: climate. Electric cars and hydrogen cars would not perform well in cold weather. Heating would be the bigger problem with the Electric car.

By the way everybody, it's June and yes it's still winter in Winnipeg...or pretty dern close to it anyway.

06-03-2009 04:47 PM

powerrodsmike

Gee Chuck, I was kinda liking the idea of something other than gasoline...
I guess I'll tell the guy who wants me to help convert his already running and registered 32 replica roadster to electric to pound sand, electricity is deader than dog crap, and until we can put a plutonium pellet in the fliptop gearshift knob and have it push the car into the 4 second 1/4 mile and do it 2000 times without a fillup i'm not going to even consider an alternate power source. ( I was looking forward to actually getting my hands on some of those cool quick disconnects from the forklift service company)

I wouldn't want to deprive the big dollar guys with the fuel supply infrastructure another chance to monopolize one more aspect of my life.

And I'll just keep asking the guys with the hydrogen powered busses, cars and lawnmowers at the shows like Pacific Coast Dream machines just what exactly is behind the hydrogen power, until they give me a straight answer. (being as for now they can't seem to answer any questions about the technology.)

Is that the answer you were looking for Chuck?

But for now, I'm going back to wrapping the rafters in my shop with all the wire I pulled out of those foreclosed homes, maybe I can save a little on my PG&E bill, or at the very least, be able to get the good Santa Cruz radio station on my shop stereo.

Later, mikey
.

06-03-2009 03:15 PM

4 Jaw Chuck

So let me get this straight, all you hotrodders think that an 11 second electric car is not slow? C'mon, that $80K Corvette almost had him at the end of the 1/4 there.

On top of that, here is a guy with obviously huge dollars at his disposal to build such a complicated machine...did you have a look at those forklift battery connectors to hookup the batteries. Thats some very expensive high tech stuff there.

Ya know when some crackpot goes out and builds some hyper expensive prototype race car using secret battery technology (didn't he read the sticker on the portable tool battery cases?) to build a car barely capable of hitting high 11's in the 1/4 mile and uses it to beat an american supercar on a race track theres something wrong. Why hasn't this guy been taken out yet? Where is homeland security in all this, obviously he's a danger to everyone around him.

Seems to me that this so called "hotrodding" hobby you folks have been practicing is endangering the security of the huge multinational corporations we hold so dear, I can tell it has not gone un-noticed by those in charge. It will not be tolerated. From this day forward I am going to propose that any battery manufactured here or abroad come with wireless tamper proof transmitters to prevent you "hotrodders" from attempting to embarass and harass the corporate identity of our great nations by utilizing the technology that we let you use on a daily basis to drill your holes and whippersnip your grass for nefarious purposes.

I for one am outraged, did you not get the hint when the GM electric car was destroyed and those who were involved were neutralized and careers wrecked so they could not pollute any more young minds with this foolish battery powered communist technology.

I have one word for you guys, HYDROGEN. We need to keep those filling stations going for the good of mankind, you can get that whole notion of energy independance out of your minds forever. Energy flows out of a nozzle not a wire people!

Stop and desist right now or this hobby of yours will be systemically legislated out of existence.

Mark my words!

Pffft...100% torque at zero rpm....jeez! Thats Stalinism I tells ya!

06-03-2009 11:29 AM

powerrodsmike

Quote:

Originally Posted by 302 Z28

Yes there are, but the manufacture of those lead acid batteries is some really nasty business. We will only have a really viable, environmentally clean electric car when we move away from batteries.

Vince

Welll...so either we get really long cords, imbed giant electric coils under roadbads to "steal" electricity, (like the rural farmers used to do when they'd build a barn under the powerlines and wrap a bunch of wire around the rafters to power up the barn from just the EMF of the high tension wires.), put up overhead wires like trolley cars use,
Or make cars lightning powered cars with a big brass knob on the roof and a metal ground wheel.......Wear your welding helmet when you drive....hahahahahah

Ya gotta start somewhere.

Later, mikey

06-03-2009 11:20 AM

302 Z28

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerrodsmike

I talked to a guy who owns a controller company, he uses lead acid golfcart batteries in his cars, mainly because the dollar for mile costs are much lower , and there are recycling facilities for those in place and working now.
later, mikey

Yes there are, but the manufacture of those lead acid batteries is some really nasty business. We will only have a really viable, environmentally clean electric car when we move away from batteries.

I talked to a guy who owns a controller company, he uses lead acid golfcart batteries in his cars, mainly because the dollar for mile costs are much lower , and there are recycling facilities for those in place and working now.

I know that one battery for that little bike costs over 3000.00 dollars, so it won't be cheap to be green. ( I know nothing about the manufacturing process, or how hazardous the manufacturing of the circuit board that keeps the Li ion battery from exploding like the early Li Ion battery in a laptop does...there are always those little issues that no one want's to talk about)

Not using foreign oil huh....................just using foreign batteries, probably from China because they are too environmentally nasty to be manufactured in the USA. I just love these dweebs that rave about not using foreign oil, but never mention where the batteries are made or better yet where they are going to be disposed of when they are no longer viable. I heard the other day that the much ballyhooed Toyota Prius has several thousand LiPO batteries, so much for green cars.

I give the guy credit for what he's done, but please do not try and convince me that he is doing the planet a favor.

I had the opportunity to work on an electric dirtbike, (which won the first 24 hour motocross race for electric bikes, with over 1000 laps on a 1/2 mile track), it was not a slug. It was not the fastest birtbike I've ever ridden, but it was plenty of fun. Considering it would do about 60 mph and get there in about 5 seconds, without shifting, it rides every bit as good as a 250 cc 4 stroke enduro bike. At 140# curb weight that's about 90 pounds less than a 2009 YZ250. A honda crf 230 weighs 267#, almost twice as much.

The downfall is in the recharge time and range..you can get way more hours of fun from 16 or 20 pounds of gas than you can from 40 pounds of battery.

But folks are coming out with better batteries, and better contollers all the time.

A article I read about the Tesla says it does the 1/4 in 12.9 seconds. An expensive 12.9 seconds at over 100K for the car, but an off the shelf 13 second electric car ain't grandpas golfcart.

Now if we could ditch all of the coal fired power plants for nuclear it would be alot cleaner.

Later, mikey

06-02-2009 11:55 PM

ericnova72

Hey Chuck, 11.50's at 110+ mph in the 1/4 ain't that slow, give the guy his prop's.!!!

At least it ain't a Smart Car. I'd kill myself if that was all there was to drive.

06-02-2009 11:25 PM

4 Jaw Chuck

God help us, another dog slow electric car.

Sure glad we are pushing for hydrogen cars instead of having to drive something like this.